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Tip

Sterilising your jars

Run jars with the
lids and any rubber
seals through the
hottest cycle of
your dishwasher.
If you don’t have
a dishwasher, give
the jars a good
wash, then heat
them in the oven
at 150C/130C fan/
gas 2 for 30 mins.
Don’t bake seals
– boil them in a
pan of water for
10 mins. If you
don’t have lids you
can buy jam pot
covers from cook
shops which you
can then cover
with fabric.

Method

Start by getting the ingredients ready.
Peel the garlic cloves and cut them into
slivers. Peel and thinly shred the ginger.
Halve, peel and thinly slice the onions,
then put them in a large, wide saucepan
or a preserving pan with the garlic and
ginger. Peel, core and chop the apples,
then add to the pan with the spices,
vinegar and salt.

Bring the pan to the boil over a gentle
heat, give everything a good stir, then turn
down the heat and cover the pan (if you
don’t have a lid use foil). Simmer for 30 mins
until the apples are cooked and pulpy.

While the apples are simmering, stone
and quarter the plums, then add them to
the cooked apples with the sugar. Stir
well and leave to bubble away, this time
uncovered, for another 40 mins stirring
regularly until the plums are cooked but
still retain some of their shape. Ladle into
the sterilised jars, seal and label.
This chutney is best kept for about
a month before eating as the vinegar
needs a bit of time to mellow. If you
don’t want the flavour of the spices
to develop any more, then take out the
cinnamon and star anise before potting.
It will keep for 1 year in a cool place but
once opened store in the fridge and use
within a month.

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Comments, questions and tips

Comments

Very very tasty recipe. Stuck to the above apart from forgetting the salt and using dark muscovado sugar for a deeper colour and flavour. Took longer to cook down than the recipe stated, but I have found this with every chutney recipe I have ever used. Stick to the amounts given, but allow around 2 hours for cooking & bottling to get the desired consistency. Your patience will be rewarded!

I used about 425ml of vinegar and it did need 20mins rapid boiling and constant stirring at the end to get it to the correct consistency but the flavour is absolutely delicious!
I also removed and set aside some of the plums once they were cooked, while I reduced the liquid, and then added them back in again at the end so I could still get quarter sized pieces of plum and a more varied texture for when I serve the chutney!
But overall I would really recommend this chutney. Very moreish indeed.

Using a huge flat jam- making pan is hard on small gas hobs so I have just done the obvious; made it all in a deep pan up to last boil of 40 mins. and ladled out half into another sausepan, thus doubling the evaporation surface and speeding up that process. It is a GLORIOUS ruby colour, sludgy consistency and smells delicious.Cant find the 3 star anise or stick of cinnamon anywhere--help......

Did it yesterday, and after having read the comments made a few changes, halved the vinegar, and put in less sugar (I'm not fond of over-sweet things and my apples from the garden are already sweet), cooked for much much longer though on very slow fire. I think it will be a success in winter. I give it four stars because of the changes, but for the taste I'd give 5.
And, almost forgotten, began cooking with the plums, and peeled the apples while the plums were already cooking, and put them in when it was definitely bubbling, so the apples remained nicely chunky.

I made a batch of this about a month before Christmas to put in hampers and got great feedback but at the time of bottling I felt it was too runny, but I have just opened a jar that I had left over and it tastes amazing and is a perfect consistency, so I think the key is to let this mature for at least a couple of months.

Having read the recomendations of others who have made this - less vinegar was used and more ginger. The bottom line its seriously tasty and if you were to buy it in a deli withe pretentions, it would cost a bob or two for something this good.
If you are to make it, a very large amount of ginger would not be a bad thing.

I made 2 batches of this at the end of last year using plums from my sisters garden and apples from ours. the rest of the fruit was frozen for other purposes but as there was such a lot of it I have just made another batch of this delicious chutney with the frozen fruit!! I was worried that it wouldn't be as good or work as well but it is EXCELLENT!! my family and friends will be very happy to be taking away their little treasures from my pantry!! I always follow the recipes on here to the letter and I have NEVER been disappointed! well done

This was my first ever chutney and it tastes a bit too sweet for me, however I'm pleased with the result. Made it in August and started using it in November....it's not going to last long...nice with some Roast Duck!

When making chutneys, I expect to end up with something both rich and thick. I cooked this for way longer than suggested, but it still wouldn't thicken; in the end I gave in and used cornflour. However, the flavour was the biggest disappointment, as all that come through is the garlic, even after maturing for a few months. I'll not use this recipe in future.

I loved this !! followed the recipe to the letter BUT! I will say that at the point where the plums and sugar are added the instruction should be to bring back to the boil and then reduce the heat and leave to "bubble away" for a further 40 minutes uncovered. Chutney is not meant to set!! only to thicken. Despite the instruction to leave for one month before eating I could not resist trying a little!! very moreish and I am sure will be even better in a months time!! well done tis a good recipe

Hmm, I've just finished making this chutney. I wanted something a bit different from Delia's classic chutney. I took note of the comments here, and used half the amount vinegar, but I still felt that the taste was quite sweet and sour. I added a bit more sugar, and I think it could have done with more apple. I also put a chili into it, to give it a little extra something. It did take about an hour to simmer down, but I think chutneys do take a while. I also used an assortment of different kinds of sugars, so that probably had a bearing on the time. Mine wasn't that chunky (although it probably would have been if I'd been a bit quicker in my prep), but it has a nice pink colour, and I'm hoping the spice flavours will develop over time.

Made two separate batches of this yesterday so not able to comment on taste yet. Used have the vinegar but first batch still took nearly two hours to thicken. Second batch I boiled more quickly and it took just over an hour. Lovely colour. Looking forward to trying in a month or so. 2kg plums and same of cooking apples made nine standard jam jars full.

Don't be put off by the mixed reviews for this recipe. As a novice chutney maker I found the recipe very easy to follow. As others have commented, it does need to simmer for longer than the suggested 40 minutes to get the right consistency but the result is delicious.

For those who have commented on the length of time this chutney takes to thicken why not make it in your slow cooker! I have been making chutney in my slow cooker with the lid off and it turns out fine. It keeps the ingredients more solid as opposed to mushing them. It takes longer but and it needs far less watching and stirring. I have put the slow cooker on High and, generally speaking, unless it was at the beginning of cooking and I put it on Low I would not go out for hours at a time and leave it. However, I find it an absolute doddle!! Haven't tried this recipe yet but when I do I will come back and rate it.

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